World Donors Pledge Another 20 Billion US Dollars in Aid for Afghanistan

World donors on Thursday pledged around 20 billion US dollars in aid to support Afghanistan's five-year development plan at a donors' conference in Paris.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, in announcing the final sum, said the figure was beyond his dreams.

"We did not expect a sum as considerable as roughly 20 billion dollars and we hoped in our wildest dreams that the sum would have been around 17 billion dollars."

The United States led the way, promising 10.2 billion US dollars in aid.

The tally met the goal of the Afghan government, which hoped for 15 billion to 20 billion dollars from the one-day conference, which brought together ministers and high-level officials from more than 80 countries and international organizations.

Donors pledged to coordinate their aid better than in the past, when billions poured into the country, often with little oversight.
In a final statement, they also urged Afghan officials to tackle corruption.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged world donors to insist on better governance by the Afghans.

"I approved Afghanistan for signing the United Nations convention against corruption and I urge the government to take active measures to ensure that it is implemented. I also welcome the strong anti-corruption proposals in the strategy, including the need to prosecute high level offenders."

The new pledges are in addition to 25 billion US dollars pledged by the international community since 2002.